12/2/12 8:48 PM EST

At the Kennedy Center’s honors gala at the State Department, the president extolled upon Guy’s unique personal story as well his ability to stay true to himself through his journey from rural Louisiana to the streets of Chicago.

“Success hasn’t changed the humble country boy who used to milk cows on a farm outside Baton Rouge. Buddy tells a story about his son Greg wanting to learn to play the guitar like Prince. Buddy told him he’d better learn some Jimi Hendrix first. It was only after watching a TV special on Hendrix that Greg found out Jimi had borrowed some licks from his dad. So Greg said, ‘I didn’t know you could play like that.’ And Buddy said, ‘You never asked.’”

Obama also reminded the crowd of a lesser known achievement than pioneering the Chicago blues sound: Guy is one of the few musicians visiting the White House to get the president to sing. Guy, who owns the successful Chicago blues club "Buddy Guy's Legends," had convinced the president at a February performance to join in during a rendition of Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago."

Also honored at the gala were Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Natalia Makarova, as well as Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.